The ODI match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan at the venue of Lahore gave the cricket fans a great thrill. The fight of Afghanistan’s batsmen against stronger Sri Lanka impressed everyone. Sri Lanka, who won the toss and batted first, scored 291 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. The Afghan team struggled remarkably as they were required to hit the target in less than 40 overs to qualify for the group. In the end, they faltered.. they made a mistake in the calculations and lost.. Sri Lanka, who won by 2 runs, took a breather.
In order to reach the target of 300 runs in just 40 overs, Afghanistan lost 3 wickets for 50 runs. But the middle order excelled in the chase. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (55 off 66 balls) scored a half-century.. Mohammad Nabi (67 off 32 balls) recorded the second fastest half-century (24 balls) in the history of the Asia Cup. Karim Janat (22 off 13 balls), Najeebullah Zadran (23 off 15 balls) and Rashid Khan (27 off 16 balls) played aggressively.
Afghanistan need to score 27 runs off 13 balls to qualify for the playoffs. Rashida Khan hit a six in the first ball of Kasun Rajitha’s over and took a single in the next ball. Najeebullah came to strike and hit a six off the next ball. This made the equation 16 runs off 10 balls. Later, even if they play slowly, Afghanistan will win easily. But with the intention of hitting a six, Najeebullah gave a catch to the fielder near the boundary line. Rajitha cleverly bowled the ball slowly.. Substitute fielder Dasun Hemanta took an eye-catching catch. With this, Najibullah reached the pavilion.. the match turned towards Sri Lanka.
With Rashid Khan at the crease at the other end, Afghanistan did not give up hope of victory. But Rashid, who was at the non-striker’s end, refused to take a single off the fifth ball of Rajitha’s over. Mujeeb came running a long way but sent him back. Had he taken a single off that ball.. if he had taken a single off the last ball too.. the situation would have been different. But Rashid Khan felt it was an unnecessary risk.
Afghanistan need 15 runs off 7 balls to qualify for Group-4. With this, the Sri Lankan captain cleverly bowled the next over with the spinner Vellalaghe. No runs from the first two balls. Rashid, who hit a four off the third ball, also hit the last two balls of the over as boundaries.
With this, in order to qualify on the basis of net run rate, Afghanistan has to score three runs in one ball. But as Mujeeb attempted a huge shot and got out, the Afghan players were in despair. Tears were evident in Rashid Khan’s eyes as he collapsed on his knees at the non-striker’s end.
But there was a mistake in calculating the net run rate. If Mujeeb took a single off the first ball of that over, if Rashid Khan hit a six or a four off the second ball or a six off the third ball, Afghanistan would have qualified for the next round. Not only that, even if a four was hit in the fifth ball of that over, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka’s run rate would have been tied. Then a toss would be thrown and the team that would go to the group would be decided. But Rashid Khan and Afghan players don’t know this. That’s why the Afghan players were overwhelmed with grief when Mujeeb got out in the first ball.